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Rudi Garcia revealed that he was unhappy with an aspect of Victor Osimhen's performance in Napoli's opening game against Frosinone despite the Nigerian striker scoring twice
Napoli manager Rudi Garcia has questioned Victor Osimhen’s performance in the opening game of the 2023/24 Serie A season, despite the striker scoring twice against Frosinone.
Osimhen leads Napoli to victory over Frosinone
Osimhen scored Napoli’s second and third goals in a 3-1 win to start the Partenopei’s title defence, but coach Rudi Garcia was unhappy with the 24-year-old forward’s overall performance.
Garcia took over from Luciano Spaletti, who won the 2022/23 Scudetto and was a huge fan of Osimhen, but it is becoming apparent that the Super Eagles forward will have to do more than score goals to win over his new boss.
Following Napoli’s win over Frosinone, Garcia spoke to Italian journalists, and while he commended Osimhen for the two goals, he was still critical of the forward’s performance, to the surprise of many.
Garcia critical of Osimhen’s defending
Garcia told DAZN, “From an offensive point of view, he was very good, he scored two goals, and I have nothing to say to him.
“From a defensive point of view, however, I didn’t like him at all, and I told him so during the interval. In the past, he pressed more and defended better.
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Garcia, however, noted an improvement in Osimhen’s defending in the latter part of the game, saying, “We corrected this in the second half and played with a lot of quality. I knew he didn’t have 90 minutes in his legs, but we waited for him to score.
“From a psychological point of view, he’s engaged in the match, and when there’s competition, he’s always there to respond. He’s a driving force and will never change; that’s his strength.”
Osimhen scored 26 goals in 31 games for Napoli last season and has already opened the new season in a similar fashion, hoping to claim back-to-back Serie A top scorers’ awards since Antonio Di Natale in 2011.
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